Suit jackets, coats, shirts, and other types of upper body garments are well known. Such garments are often manufactured in a plurality of different sizes to accommodate the various sizes of individuals. For example, suit jackets often are categorized by a numbering system in which large suits are associated with larger numbers. For example, an average sized man may wear a jacket size that is numbered between 40-46, whereas a larger man may require a jacket size that is numbered 50 or higher. In each case, a properly sized suit jacket will have sufficient size in the shoulders, arm length and waist to enable the person to be comfortable in a plurality of different positions. However, a properly sized suit jacket must also not include too much excess material which may bunch up or wrinkle when the person is in a relaxed position with his arms down at his sides.
Unfortunately, the relatively small number of standard sizes of suit jackets generally does not accommodate the large variation in human torsos. As a result, suit jackets must often be tailored to change the sleeve length, button location, and seam positions. Individuals that desire a suit jacket that fits exceptionally well, will often have the back panel portions of the suit jacket altered to remove wrinkles and bunched up material that tends to form in the back of the jacket in standard sized suit jackets. FIG. 1, shows an example of a prior art standard sized suit jacket 10 prior to being altered to fit the owner of the jacket. When worn, such pre-altered jackets often include vertical wrinkles or bunched up material 18 adjacent the seam 12 between the arm sleeves 14 and the back panel 16 of the jacket 10.
Although tailoring can produce a suit jacket or other upper body garment that fits a person properly, such tailoring adds additional expense and is inconvenient to the purchaser of the jacket. Also, if the person gains or loses weight, the suit jacket must again be altered to fit properly. Thus, there exists a need for a suit jacket or other upper body garment that can be manufactured in a form that can accommodate a larger variation in human torsos without alteration. There further exists a need for a suit jacket or other upper body garment that can be manufactured in a form that minimizes the wrinkling of material in the upper back portions of the garment for a plurality of differently sized torsos.
As discussed previously, manufacturers of garments such as suit jackets generally produce different styles or models of jackets in a plurality of different sizes which are numbered from small to large. Generally, a size 40 suit jacket from one manufacturer is similar in fit to a size 40 suit jacket from another manufacturer. When suits are sold, suits are grouped according to jacket size. Thus, many retailers will group suits with size 40 jackets together from a plurality of different manufacturers.
When a customer is looking for a new suit, the salesperson often has the customer try on a sample jacket to determine what jacket size is most appropriate for the customer. The customer is then instructed to browse suits from the grouping of suits with the same jacket size. Unfortunately, even though the jacket size may fit fairly well, the other characteristics of the suit may not fit the customer well. For example, manufacturers often associate suit pants with about a 33 inch waist size with suit jackets of size 40. If the customer has a thinner or wider waist, the suit paints will need to be altered to properly fit the customer.
Pant legs are typically left unhemmed on the display racks and only require the material to be cut and sewed. Altering the waistline, however, requires additional work that includes removing the current stitching and restitching the material according to the measured waist size of the customer. As a result, more alterations to the total suit are typically necessary for those individuals that do not exactly match the standards associated with a standard suit jacket size. Consequently, there exists a need for a new system of fitting individuals to a new suit which minimizes the amount of alterations required to properly fit the suit to the customer.